IU grad Watford wants spot on NBA roster

Eighteen NBA hopefuls, every one with a story to share and a dream to chase, are doing their best to be noticed on the practice court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The young man once responsible for Monroe County’s most-recognized beard was noticeably fatigued following a recent practice. His reversible blue-white jersey wet with perspiration, Christian Watford stood against a wall and calmly began speaking into no fewer than 10 miniature tape recorders.

On an Indiana Pacers rookie/free-agent roster littered with no-names and vaguely-familiars, Watford, who over the past four winters helped pull Indiana University’s men’s basketball program from the depths of insignificance, is given star treatment.

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